Redneck testing

kennym · April 21, 2017, 06:20:00 PM

I talked to a good bowyer this morning and he got me thinking....

So tonite I cut some .060 parallel lams exactly the same length, checking thickness on each one and adjusting as needed to get as close to .060 as possible. Also cut all to 1.5" width with table saw set for all so as close as possible to exact.

The deflection was checked by hanging over end of bench 6" and clamping it and a straight board down to bench. Then measuring deflection to straight board, and flipping over to check and average result. I used a 2" spring clamp square on the lam end 1/8" onto the end of lam , was gonna weigh it but didn't yet.

Here are the results so far, most of these would be core woods, and are edge grain.

Wood -- weight in grains -- deflection in "

R. elm ------- 32.4 -------- 1 1/16
A-wood ------- 44.2 -------- 7/8
Amber boo ---- 37.4 -------- 1 1/4
Nat boo ------ 41.0 -------- 1 3/16
Ash ---------- 34.8 -------- 1 5/16
Walnut ------- 32.4 -------- 1
H locust ----- 39.5 -------- 1 3/8
Hickory ------ 39.6 -------- 7/8+
Osage -------- 49.1 -------- 7/8+
Maple -------- 41.1 -------- 7/8-

See why a lot of old bows were maple core? LOL

Hope these numbers can help you decide on cores, but the numbers are pretty much controlled by the individual tree they came from. YMMV

>>>>>--------------------->

The yardstick I was using was in 1/16" inc. so I added a plus or minus if above or below the 1/16" measure. So the maple bent less and the hickory was lighter . Maybe it should have been -7/8".

Or maybe should have done in 1/1000 " I have a dial indicator but it is an inch job.

Seems to be a correlation in weight vs stiffness of lams in general but some just seem to fail in both and need to be veneers.....

Should have done a bocote lam and some glass for fun...

Bvas · April 21, 2017, 06:20:00 PM

Also, I took and relisted from lightest to heaviest.
Now, delete any woods that are both heavier and deflect same amount or more than any previous wood.
This leaves only two woods.....walnut and hickory.

Bvas · April 21, 2017, 06:23:00 PM

I get it now!!!
So hickory was 29/32 and maple was 27/32.

That means maple would be back on the list lol

kennym · April 21, 2017, 06:24:00 PM

I'd say maple and hickory are real close, the hickory bent roughly a 1/16 more than maple and the maple is 1.5 grains heavier. (now let the hickory lay around a week cut in lams and draw moisture and the maple would be in front :D )

Do the math on the weight / deflection and tell me!!

Bvas · April 21, 2017, 06:26:00 PM

For now, Im sticking with walnut. Seems smooth and quiet.

But I also haven't finished Avery's maple cored bow.

kennym · April 21, 2017, 06:43:00 PM

I like walnut, in this test it is less than an 1/8 more deflection and 7.2 grains lighter.

It seems to make a quiet bow too. Don't know how it would but to me it does. Let me know what you think when you get hers done!

April 21, 2017, 09:28:00 PM

Maple is a proven core wood... I have heard that even though hickory can make a fast bow it does not fare as well as maple in the long run... What say Yee'all???

Crooked Stic · April 22, 2017, 11:34:00 AM

I think walnut would be ok in edge grain. I know that it soaks a lot of glue.

Mad Max · April 22, 2017, 02:44:00 PM

Hard Rock Maple Rift sawn.

Roy from Pa · April 22, 2017, 06:40:00 PM

Bamboo...............

kennym · April 22, 2017, 07:45:00 PM

Mongolian tulip wood...

Bvas · September 04, 2017, 05:10:00 PM

Hey Kenny,
Been doin a little research on bow woods. I noticed you used honey locust in your test, but black locust seems to have a much better weight to flex ratio.

Can you source black locust?

kennym · September 04, 2017, 05:12:00 PM

Actually I have some real nice black locust in the back of shop, been there for 4 years !

And some sassafrass I think!!

Forgot about it and never got it on my site yet!

Thanks for the reminder....

Bvas · September 04, 2017, 06:02:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by kennym:
Actually I have some real nice black locust in the back of shop, been there for 4 years !

And some sassafrass I think!!

Forgot about it and never got it on my site yet!

Thanks for the reminder....

Uhhhhh.......You're welcome

And by not selling it all before I can convince the wife that I need another bow. Lol

Who knows, they may even beat out MTW???

Roy from Pa · September 04, 2017, 06:43:00 PM

I have a bunch of Mongolian Tulip wood.

Bvas · September 04, 2017, 07:26:00 PM

QuoteOriginally posted by Roy from Pa:
I have a bunch of Mongolian Tulip wood.

I figured you used all your stash for making thumping sticks.

ty_in_ND · September 06, 2017, 03:56:00 PM

Hey Kenny, if you do update this list with black locust and possibly sassafrass (and maybe Mongolian Tulip wood? =D ), would you care to run some black cherry through the test? I'd be very interested to see how cherry does.